The last time I machine gunned the abandoned village was in the summer of 1967. I was door gunner on a UH-1D that day. The Huey went to Long Binh for some kind of delivery. On the way back to Blackhorse, the aircraft commander decided to give the crew chief and me a little gunner practice. He made three runs over the village at a higher than usual altitude. I emptied the ammunition can, firing every round from the M-60D machine gun. The crew chief had stoppages on all three passes.
By that date, the village was a mass of broken concrete blocks and red roof tiles. Not a single building or wall remained standing. Six months as a free fire zone target will do that.
Showing posts with label free fire zone. Show all posts
Showing posts with label free fire zone. Show all posts
Wednesday, December 9, 2015
Monday, December 7, 2015
Free fire zone 2
A couple of months after shooting up several roofs in the abandoned village, another gunship team went in to check gun and rocket sights alignment. The two ships made one pass each, and as the first ship went in for another run, some kind of smoke round streamed down about a hundred meters to the right.
“What is that?” the pilot of the trail gunship asked the team leader, who replied: “I don’t know, and we are not sticking around to find out.”
The two gunships quickly left the area and continued the assigned patrol.
Smart man, the team leader.
“What is that?” the pilot of the trail gunship asked the team leader, who replied: “I don’t know, and we are not sticking around to find out.”
The two gunships quickly left the area and continued the assigned patrol.
Smart man, the team leader.
Free fire zone
An abandoned village sat in a large clearing northeast of Blackhorse base camp. The village consisted of half a dozen concrete block buildings with red tile roofs and a small Catholic Church building, also with red tile roof. The village was in a free-fire zone. That meant the area was so infested with Viet Cong that everyone had been suspect and relocated to a village under government control. Free fire zone also meant anyone could fire into the area at any time, no reason or approval required.
The village became a favored place to test helicopter machine guns and rockets following aircraft overhaul as well as evaluating new gunship pilots, and for registering artillery pieces.
One day in spring 1967, the gunship team leader in whose platoon I flew that day decided to test his two ships’ door guns and side mounted flex guns, six M-60 machine guns on each helicopter.
I learned that day: it is fun as hell, rolling into a number of concrete block buildings and firing a machine gun; and, roof tiles shatter when hit by 7.62mm slugs.
The village became a favored place to test helicopter machine guns and rockets following aircraft overhaul as well as evaluating new gunship pilots, and for registering artillery pieces.
One day in spring 1967, the gunship team leader in whose platoon I flew that day decided to test his two ships’ door guns and side mounted flex guns, six M-60 machine guns on each helicopter.
I learned that day: it is fun as hell, rolling into a number of concrete block buildings and firing a machine gun; and, roof tiles shatter when hit by 7.62mm slugs.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
